Bureau of Reclamation Central Valley Project: Infrastructure and Water Deliveries

Summary

Bureau of Reclamation Central Valley Project: Infrastructure and Water Deliveries

Central Valley Project (CVP)

The CVP, owned and operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, covers approximately 20,000 square miles in California, from Redding in the north to Bakersfield in the south. In an average year, the CVP delivers approximately 5 million acre-feet (AF) of water to its contractors, including agricultural (Ag) contractors operating on some of the nation's most valuable farmland, municipal and industrial (M&I) users, and state and federal wildlife refuges, among others. Some of these deliveries go to contractors north of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers' Delta (NOD); other water is "exported" (via pumps and conveyance infrastructure) south of the Delta (SOD).

CVP Water Contractor Type

NOD Settlement

NOD Ag/M&I

Wetland Habitat/Refuge

SOD Exchange

Friant Division

SOD Ag/M&I

In Delta

American River M&I

SOD Settlement

Eastside

Federal Dam

State Dam

Local Government/Utility Dam

Pumps/Pumping Stations

CVP Conveyance

State Aqueduct

Local Aqueduct

River Names

Only dams with storage over 500,000 acre-feet.

State Water Project (SWP)

A separate project operated by the State of California, the SWP, coordinates its operations with the federal government and delivers about 70% of its water to M&I users.

Selected CVP Contractor

Allocations, 2003-2024 Annual allocations as a % of maximum contract allocations

Water Rights Contractors

Reclamation first makes CVP water available for delivery to contractors with water rights that predate construction of the CVP, including NOD (Sacramento River) Settlement Contractors and SOD (San Joaquin River) Exchange Contractors.

NOD Settlement Contractors2,115,620 AF

SOD Exchange Contractors875,623 AF

Other Agricultural (Ag) Water Contracts

Other contract types (e.g., water service, repayment contracts) account for most of the CVP's remaining supplies. These deliveries have a lower priority than water rights contractors and wildlife refuges. This category includes Westlands Water District, the country's largest irrigation district.

NOD Ag468,990 AF

SOD Ag1,951,217 AF

Central Valley Wildlife Refuges

California's Central Valley is home to 19 state and federal wildlife refuges that receive water from the CVP pursuant to a 1992 law (P.L. 102-575).

NOD National Wildlife Refuges151,250 AF

SOD National Wildlife Refuges 271,001 AF

Friant Division Contractors

Friant Division Contractors receive San Joaquin River water that is stored behind Friant Dam, in Millerton Lake. This water is delivered through the Friant-Kern and Madera Canals.

Friant Division 800,000 AF

Maximum allocations (as of 2026) AF: acre-feet Ag: Agricultural NOD: North-of-Delta SOD: South-of-Delta

For more information, see CRS Report R45342, Central Valley Project: Issues and Legislation. Map sources: California State Geoportal, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and ESRI. Information as of March 26, 2026. Prepared by Charles V. Stern, Specialist in Natural Resources Policy; Mari Lee, Visual Information Specialist; and Cassandra Higgins, Geospatial Information Systems Analyst.